Prior air bag systems for use with motor vehicles include an air bag that deploys through a sewn seam in a cover material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,615 to Miesik, for example, shows a vehicle seat including an air bag surrounded by a seat cover, and the air bag penetrates the seat cover by tearing open a sewn seam in the seat cover. Such an arrangement, however, is undesirable for at least two reasons. First, ballooning of the seat cover may occur prior to failure of the seam. Unfortunately, such an occurrence may increase the amount of time required for the air bag to exit the seat. Second, the seat cover may have flaws, such as holes, tears and snags, that may serve as potential exit points for the air bag.